


Raise Your Voice

by seratonation



Category: X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Friendship, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-19
Updated: 2012-07-19
Packaged: 2017-11-10 07:12:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,852
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/463611
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seratonation/pseuds/seratonation
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Two and a half years after the events off the coast of a Cuban Beach, The Brotherhood has returned to live in the mansion, with an unstable truce between Erik and Charles keeping them all together. The school is slowly growing with some of Charles first class teaching the younger kids, and sometimes going out on recruitment missions. </p><p>When Sean and Janos encounter a powerful mutant on one such mission, Sean is injured, despite Janos' best efforts. Every cloud has a silver lining however, and Sean uses this new connection to get to know his house mates.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Raise Your Voice

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to my lovely beta clocks, and to megan-moonlight for the awesome prompt that propelled this story into what it is. Her art can be found [here](http://megan-moonlight.livejournal.com/503674.html) and the Xmen Reverse Bang Masterpost can be found [here](http://xmenreversebang.livejournal.com/17738.html)

Going out on missions had always been exciting for Sean. He loved meeting new people, especially fellow mutants, and being able to tell them they weren’t alone. Being able to show them that was still one of the best feelings he’s ever had.

Of course, when they had to go out with Erik's people they knew it was a big deal. It was either a powerful mutant, or an important one. They liked to pair them off with someone from the opposite side. Charles said it was to show there wasn’t any favouritism, and so that they could pass on both messages of the movement but Sean had a feeling it was to make sure there was no double crossing.

Not that any of them would do that, of course.

Still, Sean didn’t mind. Erik's team was mostly quiet, and they got things done. This was the first time he was paired up with Riptide though, who was the quietest of them all. In fact Sean could count the words he’s heard Riptide say on one hand.

Sean tried to fill the silence but Riptide seemed determined to keep interactions at a minimum. The time seemed to go on forever, but about one hour after the stakeout started they caught sight of the mutant.

He was pretty young, but according to Charles he was one of the most powerful they had detected so far.

“There he is,” Sean whispered, “doesn’t look too bad, does he?”

The boy turned and stared in their direction, focusing on them sitting on the roof. “You think he heard us?” Sean whispered, even lower.

The next thing he knew, there was a high pitched scream, right in his head. He doubled over and covered his ears, but it didn’t seem to do any good.

All he could think was that he could fight fire with fire. Riptide already had his ears covered so Sean went for it, his scream going higher and higher until the dogs down the road started to howl.

He was starting to feel light headed. The boy didn’t seem affected at all, but at least the only sound now was his own. He stopped to take a breath, but the screaming in his head started again. He fell to his knees, his eyes watering. He was sure he was going to die, then he saw Riptide step in front of him and send off a mini tornado at the kid.

It dissipated before it touched him, as if there was a force field around him. Riptide sent off another one, much bigger. It surrounded the kid, force field and all, but instead of dissipating this one was growing.

The force field disappeared, leaving the kid in the centre of the storm. The screaming had stopped and Sean’s vision was beginning to clear, so he managed to catch a glimpse of the kid, hands out, controlling the tornado.

The kid flicked his wrists and sent the tornado back at them. Riptide put his arms up and the tornado thinned before it reached them, but the remaining wind knocked them off their feet. Sean landed on his chest, and a sharp pain shot through his ribcage, making it hard to breathe. He could only helplessly clutch at his stomach as Riptide knelt beside him in concern.

He watched as Riptide formed a tornado on his palm, made it grow before hurling it at the kid who put up the shield again. 

Suddenly, there was a puff of red smoke in front of them; Azazel and Alex had appeared on the roof. The kid gasped and then disappeared in another puff of smoke.

“Sean!” he heard Alex call out, running towards him, falling on his knees in front of him.

“I’m okay,” he managed, though he didn’t feel it, why did everything sound so far away? “I’m okay,” he said again, wiping at his face, “shit, is that blood?”

***

He was home in an instant, supported by Riptide and Alex. He kept trying to tell them he was fine but it was hard to sound convincing when every move was agony.

They took him to the rooms they had designated the medical bay, and made him lie on the bed. Everything still sounded fuzzy and he couldn't focus on anyone’s voice. Then Hank was there, and it was easier when he was in front of him and the only one talking.

“Tell me where it hurts,” Hank was saying.

“Breathe,” Sean gasped, “it hurts to breathe.”

“Okay, I’m going to check your ribs for fractures,” Hank said, “tell me when it hurts.”

He started pressing at Sean’s chest, every touch hurting just as bad as the last, then he got to one spot half way down his chest and- “Jesus Christ!” Sean yelled, trying to pull away.

“Sorry, sorry,” Hank said, holding his hands up to show Sean he was backing off, “Just relax.” He turned around and took out some tablets. “Take these, they’ll take the edge off, and then I’m going to get you to take the top of your suit off, and we’ll bind the area, but you have to sit up.”

Sean gritted his teeth and pushed himself up, downed the tablets, then unzipped the top of his suit and pulled the sleeves off. “I hate you,” he said through clenched teeth. 

“It’ll feel better once I do this,” Hank said, “you’re just going to have to bear with me.”

Hank took out some bandages and used it to bind Sean’s chest around the fractured rib. After the initial pain, Sean had to admit that he did feel better.

“Can you breathe normally?” Hank asked.

“If you call pain with every breath normal,” Sean said, placing a hand on the bandages, “but it’s easier than before.”

“Good,” Hank said, “bed rest, for at least a week.”

“Oh man,” Sean said, “can I at least go to my own bed?”

“Fine,” Hank consented, “but once you get there you don’t leave, for at least a week.”

“Okay, alright,” Sean said.

“I’ll come to check up on you every day,” Hank said as Sean got up, “if you need anything-”

“I’ll be fine, thanks doc,” Sean said, walking towards the door. When he opened it he found Alex waiting for him on the other side, “I’m fine,” he said again, this time to Alex, “it’s just a fracture.”

“Right, _just_ a fracture,” Alex said, “you know, I’ve had one of those, and it hurts like hell.”

“Yeah, but Hank did his magic and I don’t feel like I’m dying anymore.”

“Come on,” Alex said and from Alex's tone, Sean didn't have to look at him to know he was rolling his eyes, “let’s get you to bed.”

***

“You should come to bed,” Azazel said, lifting the sheets, inviting Janos in, “it has been a long day and night, you need rest.”

“I know,” Janos said, “I just need to make sure Banshee is alright.”

“The one you were with?” Azazel said, “Why? He does not check up on you.”

“Yes, but I am fine, and he was not,” he said. 

Azazel shrugged. “Do not take too long,” he said, then smiled suggestively, “or I might get lonely.” 

Janos grinned. “I will be right back.”

He went to the medical wing first, but when he found the place deserted, he decided to check in Banshee’s room. He was almost there when he ran into Havok. 

“What’d you want?” Havok said, eyes narrowed. 

“I just came to see Banshee,” Janos said, “is he alright?”

“No, he’s not alright,” Alex said, “there’s a reason they send us out in pairings, why didn't you help him?” 

“I tried,” Janos said, “but the other was too powerful. It was like he knew us already, our powers. He used them against us.”

“I don’t care!” Alex said, “you should have protected him!” 

Janos took an involuntary step back. “I did,” he said, “you will see in the debriefing, it could have been much worse.” 

“That’s not good enough!” Alex yelled, “this wasn't meant to happen.”

Janos put a hand on Alex’s shoulders. “I understand it is very scary to see him like this, to know that you could not help him. What did your doctor say?” 

“He said,” Alex started, took a breath and started again, “he said he’ll be okay, he’s got a broken rib, otherwise it’s just cuts and bruises.”

Janos studied Alex’s face, saw the tired lines around his eyes and sensed the tension in his shoulders. He tightened his grip on Alex for a moment before letting go. “You should get some rest,” he said, “lie down, maybe sleep. You will feel better in the morning.”

Alex looked like he doubted that very much, but he nodded. “Sorry,” he said, then “thanks. Hank gave Sean something for the pain and it knocked him out, but you’re right, he’s going to be okay.”

Janos nodded. “Thank you,” he said, and walked back to his room. 

***

Charles came to visit him the next day, asking him about what happened on the mission. Sean told him everything he could remember, and then let Charles have a look at everything else. 

When he was satisfied he told Sean they would have a proper debriefing when he was feeling better and he left.

Almost everyone came to visit Sean that week. He had a feeling they were making an effort to space their visits out evenly, after what had happened on the first day. Having been alone for more than an hour, Sean had gotten restless and tried to get up, hobbling around on his own. Hank had gotten into a fit when he had caught Sean wandering around, and he had sent Sean straight back to bed. Needless to say, by the seventh day, Sean was sick of being sick.

When Hank came in to check up on him and to change his bandages, Sean practically begged him to let him off bed rest, even though he was still sore, and certain movements sent agonising pain through him.

“I don’t need to be telepathic to know you’re still not well,” Hank said.

“Come on, Hank,” Sean said, “I’m tired of just lying here, I can feel myself wasting away.”

Hank made a low growling noise but just when Sean thought he was about to say no, he gave in. “Fine, but don’t strain yourself too much, definitely no flying until you’re fully healed, and no missions either.”

“I’ll take it,” Sean said, “and how long will that be?”

“Another three weeks at least,” Hank said, “until taking deep breaths isn’t a problem anymore.”

“Fair enough,” Sean conceded.

That night, with new bandages, and feeling more hopeful than he had since the mission, he went to bed. He even managed to coax Alex into bed with him.

“I could hurt you in my sleep,” Alex said, looking doubtful when Sean moved aside and asked him to join him.

“Then I will scream bloody murder,” Sean said, “you can’t sleep on the chair again; it’s either my bed or your own.”

Alex still hesitated so Sean tugged at him until he slid into the bed with him. “You’re not going to hurt me,” Sean assured him, “you sleep like the dead, in one position, all night.”

He pulled Alex’s arm across his chest and pulled him closer till Alex was curled around him. When nothing happened, Alex visibly relaxed.

“See?” Sean said, “I’m not going to break, now go to sleep.”

“Shut up,” Alex muttered.

Sean smiled to himself and closed his eyes. Things were looking up.

***

True to form, when Sean woke up, Alex hadn’t moved at all, besides managing to bury his face in Sean’s shoulder.

Sean stayed still for a while longer. He watched the dust float in the shafts of sunlight that fell through the blinds and listened to Alex’s soft breathing. Sometime later, it could have been minutes or hours, he could hear the rest of the mansion stirring to life.

He softly shook Alex awake. “Hey,” he whispered.

Alex moaned and dug deeper into the covers and into Sean’s skin.

“Hey you need to wake up,” Sean said.

“Why?” Alex mumbled, drawing the word out.

“You should probably go, before someone decides to check up on me.”

Alex groaned and slowly untangled himself from Sean. “This is more comfortable, my bed’s going to be cold.”

Sean let out a soft laugh. “And whose fault is that?”

“Yours,” Alex grumbled, “besides, I needed to make sure you were okay.”

“I’m fine,” Sean assured him, “but you should go, before the professor wakes up and finds you here.”

Alex sighed and pressed a soft kiss to Sean's neck before sliding out of bed. “If you need anything just give me a yell.”

“I’ll be fine,” Sean said, “thank you.”

When he was gone, Sean curled into the space Alex had just vacated, already missing the warm weight by his side.

***

Sean managed to pull himself out of bed not long after. He took a shower, dug some pain killers out of the bathroom cabinet and made his way downstairs. There were an ugly bruise on his chest and a couple of scratches that were still healing on his face, but it wasn’t anything he couldn’t handle. He was just glad to be out of bed.

He had his head buried in the fridge, contemplating an omelette when Charles’s voice reverberated in his head. _Debriefing in the blue office in 15 minutes._

He groaned and pulled out the orange juice instead. He poured himself a glass and made his way to the other side of the house. He ran into Alex on the way, who silently handed him half of his sandwich. Sean grinned at him and took it gratefully, passing the glass to Alex as they walked the rest of the way together.

“You know, you really shouldn’t skip breakfast,” Alex said, “it’s the most important meal-“

“-Of the day,” Sean finished for him, “I know,” he said around his half of the sandwich, “I wasn’t planning on it; I’ll have a big lunch to make up for it.”

Alex rolled his eyes and shouldered him. “It doesn’t work like that.”

Sean laughed. “Yes mom, I won’t do it again.”

“Dork,” Alex said, but he was smiling, so Sean knew he didn’t really mean it.

***

The debriefing was mostly routine. The blue room had an oval table that they all sat around. Erik and Charles, as the heads of house, sat on either end while Sean, Alex, Riptide and Azazel sat between them. 

Sean and Janos told them what they saw and what had happened.

Charles nodded and touched the tips of steepled fingers to his lips, then he looked across the table at Erik.

“A mimic, or a chameleon ,” he said finally, “he must have sensed me in his mind and so I perceived him to be a telepath. When he saw Sean he perceived that he could manipulate his voice and so that was what you saw.”

“Is that possible?” Alex asked, “Just by sight?”

“I see no other possibility,” Charles said, “Sean and Janos didn’t make any physical contact and yet he was able to use their abilities against them.”

“What about the force field?” Janos asked.

“That might be an innate mutation, part of the self preservation that comes with the nature of his ability,” he said, “the truth is however, that there are a lot of possibilities and we are still learning new things every day. Still, he is only a boy, and he is alone and afraid. It’s not up to us to question what he can and cannot do. All we can do is offer him a safe haven.”

Sean sensed Erik tensing up, his hands going to fists before he hid them under the table.

“So we’re going after him again?” Alex asked.

“I think maybe in a few more weeks,” Charles said tersely, eyeing Erik’s stiff posture. 

“If that’s everything,” Erik said, “you are all dismissed.”

Janos and Azazel stood up and were gone in a puff of red smoke, leaving nothing behind but a faint smell of sulfur. As Alex and Sean walked out through the door, they could hear Charles and Erik arguing.

“They are not soldiers to be commanded-“

“There needs to be a chain of-“

“-Still children-“

“-Need to grow up-“

Sean tuned them out, and focused his attention on Alex. “I think it’s time for that big lunch,” he said, “how do you feel about an omelette? I think I saw some mushrooms in the fridge.”

***

The chores around the house were allocated every week. There were a lot of people, and many of them were constantly growing. The younger ones got a respite, but Charles had insisted the teenagers (and grown-ups) had to help.

Sean must have pissed off Hank because he was saddled with garbage duty that week. Hank had insisted it was all random, and they’ll get someone to help him if he was still sore, but Sean had a feeling it has more to do with the test tubes he accidentally shattered a few weeks ago.

When he walked into the kitchen he found Angel perched on one of the counters, feet dangling two feet off the ground, and Riptide stirring a pot over the stove. They were chatting in a language Sean didn't understand, and he realised it must be Spanish.

“Glad to see you're up and about again,” Angel said, smiling at him when she noticed him walk in.

“Yeah,” he said, “it was no big deal.”

Riptide huffed from where he was standing. “It looked like a big deal.”

Sean grinned. “I guess it was a little bit of a big deal,” he said, “thank you by the way, for helping me.”

Riptide shrugged. “Of course,” he said, then he smirked, “no big deal.”

Sean was surprised into laughter. He leaned on the counter next to Riptide so he could peek into the pot. “How come you're not helping?” he asked Angel.

“Does it look like he needs any help?” she said, raising an eyebrow.

He raised his own back at her and turned to Janos. “What are you making anyway?”

“Paella,” he said, “easy to make, and it can feed a village.”

“That is very much what we are,” he said, “now if you’ll excuse me this village needs all of its garbage taken out.”

***

Saturday morning dawned bright but cold. Sean pulled the covers closer to himself, still half asleep.

The weekend was supposed to be their time off. Some of the kids worked in town, but since Sean was teaching he got the whole weekend to himself. He had just gotten into the perfect position to insulate all the warmth when a bang from downstairs startled him.

He tried to drift off again but now that he was aware of the noise it was hard to ignore. He dragged himself out of bed, mentally grumbling about kids and no respect for their elders, (even though he was only twenty-four himself.)

When he made it downstairs though, he was surprised to find it was his own friends making all the noise. They were crowded around someone that Sean couldn't see, but when Raven caught sight of him she beamed and gestured him closer.

“It's Darwin!” she said, “He's back!”

The people parted and there was Darwin, grinning like this was a surprise, as if they wouldn't greet him with anything other than delight that he'd come back from the dead.

“What the hell,” he said, sitting down opposite Darwin, turning from him to Alex, who looked like he could hardly believe it himself, “you died, I saw you myself.”

“I'm invincible!” Darwin said, and laughed, “Nah, I needed some time to get myself back together, literally! And once I was me again, you were all gone. No one could tell me anything!”

“We had to go into hiding,” Sean said, wondering how much they could tell him. So much time had passed by, “so many things have happened.”

“Yeah,” he said, “Alex was just telling me.” He looked up at Angel who avoided his gaze, and at Raven, who looked straight back at him, “this Erik and Charles thing...” he started.

“They’re still working on it,” Hank said, sitting at the head of the table.

“At least they’re not trying to kill each other anymore,” Angel said.

“Well,” Sean said slowly, and the others laughed.

“And don’t get me wrong,” Darwin said, “but two of you are more blue than I remembered.”

“Hey,” Raven said, “I’ve always been like this, I just don’t hide anymore.”

Darwin raised an eyebrow and gave her an appraising look. “You’re certainly not hiding anything, are you?”

She narrowed her eyes at him, but he’d already turned to Hank. “You can’t tell me you’ve always looked like that, man.”

“No,” Hank said, “I tried normalising the external expression of the mutation and I ended up enhancing it instead.”

“This is better though, isn’t it,” Raven said, not really a question.

Darwin looked between them and then pushed his chair out. “That looks like something I don’t want to get between,” he said, “but Alex was going to show me this thing that Hank made, that focuses his energy?”

“It’s like a laser instead of loops,” Alex said, “come on I’ll show you, the bunker is the only place we can do it.”

“I’ll come with you,” Hank said, “the suit’s locked up in my lab.”

“You’re next, buddy,” Darwin said, pointing at Sean, “you gotta show me this flying thing.”

“Yeah, in a couple of weeks, when Hank says it’s okay,” Sean said, and they left the room, laughing. He blinked after them and then let out a yawn before he remembered he still hadn’t even had coffee yet, or breakfast.

“Weird right?” Raven said, “Him coming back like that?”

“Why? You think it might not be him?” Angel asked.

“No, Charles wouldn’t have let him get this far if it wasn’t him,” Raven said, “it’s just weird, we saw him turn to dust.”

Sean shrugged and got up to make that coffee. “No weirder than being able to fly,” he said, “or being blue.”

“Yeah,” she said, sounding resigned, “I guess.”

Maybe it was weird, but what Sean couldn’t stop thinking about was how quickly Alex went off with Darwin, without a second look back.

***

Sean was not hiding. He was out in the forest, sitting moodily in a hollow in the ground that was concealed by a growth of trees. It was well hidden and near impossible to find, unless you knew its exact location. So no, Sean was not hiding at all.

So when Janos pulled back a curtain of leaves and stepped into the cool space, Sean was only surprised because he didn’t think anyone knew about this spot.

“Hey,” he said, sitting up straight.

“Hi,” Janos said, “may I join you?”

“Yeah,” Sean said, shifting in the small space so that Janos could sit beside him.

“Why are you alone?” he asked.

Sean shrugged but didn’t answer. “What about you?”

“Emma is with Charles and Erik,” Janos said, “and Azazel is gone.”

“Gone?” Sean asked, frowning, “Where?”

Now it was Janos’s turn to shrug. “He comes and he goes,” he said, “he never says where, the important thing is he comes back.”

Sean nodded slowly. He hadn’t thought of it like that, but it made sense. “How do you know he’ll come back?”

“I don’t,” Janos said, “but I trust him, do you trust Alex?”

“How-?”

“I saw him with Darwin earlier,” Janos said, “they are good friends, yes?”

“Yes,” Sean repeated sullenly, “I know it’s dumb but what if he realises Darwin is better?”

“You trust him, so you trust his judgment,” Janos said, “you should trust that he will chose you and he will not be so easily swayed.”

Sean nodded again but didn’t reply. Then after a moment something else occurred to him. “Hey, how did you find me?”

Janos shrugged and then grinned. “You are not as silent as you think, Banshee.”

***

Sean made his way into the house for dinner. He didn’t steal away to his room afterwards, as much as he wanted to. He was a grown up, or at least, he wasn’t a teenager anymore, and so instead he headed to the living room.

He found a few of the younger kids watching cartoons, so he sprawled out on the vacant couch and watched with them.

It wasn’t long after that Alex joined him, lifting Sean's feet and putting them on his lap as he sat down. He didn’t say anything, just rubbed his thumb along the underside of Sean’s foot, just the way Sean liked.

“Where were you today?” Alex whispered so he wouldn’t disturb the kids.

Sean shrugged, and contemplated not answering. “Outside, in the woods,” he said anyway.

“Alone?” Alex asked.

“Janos followed me,” he said, “he found the hollow.”

“That’s okay,” Alex said, “we have other places.”

“I don’t think he’ll be a problem,” Sean said, and finally looked at Alex, a half smile pulling at his lips.

“Azazel?” Alex asked.

Sean nodded.

“I always wondered,” Alex said, smiling back.

They were silent for a while longer, watching Tom chase Jerry around a garden.

“You’re upset about Darwin?” Alex said.

“No,” Sean said, “I was, but you came back.”

“Of course,” Alex said.

They watched a few more episodes before Sean stood up and announced he was going to bed. Some of the kids wished him a good night and he was gone.

He was in pyjamas and in bed when Alex followed him. Sean could see his outline in the doorway before the door shut. There was movement and Alex was crawling into bed with him.

“Alex, what-” he started, and then when Alex pulled down the sheets and pulled at Sean's waistband Sean understood. “You don't need to-” he said as he lifted his hips.

"I want to," Alex said, then wrapped his lips around Sean's already half hard cock. It only took a little bit of teasing and licking before Sean was fully hard.

“Alex,” Sean moaned, trying to thrust into Alex’s mouth. He ran his fingers through Alex’s hair and settled on his cheek. Alex bobbed his head, till the head of Sean’s cock hit the roof of his mouth and then hollowed his cheeks.

Sean gasped, biting his lip, but he couldn’t stop the moan that escaped, deep in his throat. He pulled at the sheet with his free hand and arched off the mattress. “Alex,” he said again, the only warning before he was coming, eyes squeezed shut.

When it was over, Alex crawled back up, wiping his mouth with the back of his arm. “You-” Sean tried to say, exhausted, his ribs a dull throb, but it was nothing compared to the thrum of pleasure coursing through his blood.

“Don’t worry about it,” Alex whispered, planting a sloppy kiss on Sean’s shoulder, “go to sleep.”

Sean rolled over to tangle his limbs with Alex’s and closed his eyes. “Love you.”

“Me too.”

***

Janos was on his way to the library when he saw Sean walking towards him, nose buried in a notebook, head nodding along as if he was listening to something no one else could hear. He knew Sean had super hearing that he could focus on certain things and tune out the rest, so it was very possible.

He took a turn into a room Janos had never been in before, so when he was passing by he took a peek through the door that Sean had left ajar and saw that the room had several musical instruments propped up, and a piano pushed up against the wall. This was where Sean sat.

Sean cracked his knuckles and started to play. Janos pushed the door a little further and walked in, but when Sean didn’t look up, he just stood and listened. Sean picked out a couple of classics first, then started working on something else. Janos watched him pause every once in a while to change something, or make an annotation in the notebook he had been looking at earlier.

He was so absorbed in what he was doing that when Janos approached and sat down in the seat next to him, he jumped in surprise.

“Jesus, Janos you scared me,” he said, clutching at his chest.

“Sorry,” Janos said, “you were playing the piano, but I don’t know what song.”

“Oh, it’s my own, I’m composing.”

“I did not know you write music,” he said, curious.

“Oh, sure,” Sean said, drawing out the word, tucking the pencil behind his ear, “It’s easier on guitar but that’s because I've been playing the guitar since I was a kid.”

“So why don’t you use that to compose and then just transfer to piano?”

Sean grinned. “Then I’d never get better at piano, would I?”

Janos laughed. “I guess not.”

He watched Sean play a few more notes before stopping again to scribble something out and rewrite a note, one line lower.

“I used to be able to read music,” Janos confessed, “play the piano, too.”

“Oh yeah?” Sean said, “how come you stopped?”

“My mutation manifested,” Janos said, then he held out his hands, palms up, “watch.”

Sean watched as thin spikes made of bone pierced through the skin on Janos’s palms. He winced then pulled them out, one by one.

“Beast called it calcium deposits,” Janos said, “too much builds up in one place and this happens.”

“That’s so cool,” Sean said, picking one up to look at it more closely, “disgusting, but cool.”

Janos smiled. “I could not control it back then, it made playing very difficult, I was only 12 or 13 so I just stopped playing.”

“Aw that sucks,” Sean said, sounding genuinely unhappy, “you should pick it up again; it’s probably like riding a bike.”

“I do not know how to ride a bike,” Janos said, without really thinking. When he saw the look of shock on Sean’s face though, he wondered if that was somehow wrong.

“What did you do as kids then?” Sean asked.

“We had a playground, and a football,” Janos said. He hadn’t thought of his childhood home in a long time, but thinking about it now made him smile, “there were a lot of us in the neighbourhood, we had teams.”

“That’s awesome,” Sean said, relaxing, picking at the piano keys, “I had a big family and not enough space for anything organised, besides we’d probably kill each other before we did anything together.”

“Were you all mutants?” Janos asked.

“No,” Sean said, and smiled, though it didn’t really reach his eyes, “it was just me.”

***

“We should go out,” Sean said one afternoon. The school term had come to an end, so a lot of the kids had gone home for the holidays. The house felt empty, even though this was more people than it had when they first moved in two and a half years ago.

“Where do you wanna go?” Alex asked.

“I dunno,” Sean said, shifting on the couch he was sitting on till his head was hanging off the edge, “out, away, we should ask Azazel to take us somewhere warm.”

“Azazel?” Darwin asked, doubtfully.

“Yeah,” Sean said, “we’ll ask Janos to come with, we’ll call it bonding or something, who cares if it ends us on a beach?”

“That doesn't actually sound like a terrible idea,” Angel said.

“It’ll have to be somewhere isolated,” Hank said, “if we all want to go.”

“Which we do,” Raven said.

“I’m sure Azazel could figure out a spot,” Sean said.

They sat in silence for a moment longer, then Alex sat forward. “So who volunteers to ask him?”

Raven rolled her eyes. “You are all wimps; he’s really not that scary.”

She was gone before they could comment though. She was back in a few minutes, bright eyed and flushed. “Get your sunscreen out, we’re going to Hawaii!”

They made sure to let Charles and Erik know where they were going and how they were getting there. When they got all of their things ready they met up in the entrance hallway. 

Azazel had to take them in two lots, but it really wasn't a problem because he did it so quickly. Sean had only travelled with Azazel a handful of times, but it still felt weird. He closed his eyes but nothing could stop the nervousness.

Then he felt sand under his feet and warmth on his face, so he opened his eyes to find himself on a deserted beach, surrounded by palm trees. The girls were already in their bathing suits, laying down towels to lie under the sun. He grinned at Alex, took off his jacket and t-shirt and dropped his things on the sand where he stood before rushing off to the water.

He dove in headfirst and swam out, and before long the others followed him. Darwin grew scales, gills and webbing between his fingers and feet, and Hank seemed to shrink with all his fur plastered to his skin.

He didn't know how long they spent in the water, swimming against the waves and being swept away with them, but he eventually had to get out, exhausted from being thrown around by the current. Hank was close to follow, shaking himself and splattering them all with water.

The girls squealed, and Azazel frowned in distaste at him, but the others just laughed. Hank just bared his teeth in a smile and walked back to his stuff, pulling them under the giant umbrella that Azazel and Janos had set up close to the girls.

Among his things was a cooler and a basket full of food. Sean followed him and helped them set up the food before grabbing a sandwich for himself.

Azazel abruptly stood up. “I am going for a swim.”

Sean had never thought of Azazel in anything less than a suit, so seeing him strip down to nothing but swim trunks was surprising. When he caught them staring he glared at them and stalked off.

“He doesn't really like being around us does he?” Sean asked.

“He will come around,” Janos said.

“It’s been almost a year since you guys moved in,” Hank said, “when exactly will he come around?”

“Because you have all adjusted well to us moving in,” Janos said.

“Well enough,” Hank said.

“Hey, hey,” Sean said, holding up his hands, “I could say something about arguments and beaches here but I won’t.”

Hank instantly deflated, and Janos slowly relaxed.

“Sorry,” Hank said, “there’s been a lot of adjustments to make.”

“Yes, for everyone,” Janos agreed.

“You know,” Sean said, “you should talk to the professor about a teaching position at the school.”

“And what will I teach?” Janos asked, sounding uninterested.

“I don’t know,” Sean said, “Spanish, sports, geography. It’s not like we have all the topics covered yet, and Charles and Hank are splitting three science topics between them.”

“And there’s also the fact that the children are all at different levels,” Hank interjected, “it’s impossible making sure they all get the same level of learning.” 

“Most adults aren’t really interested in joining the ‘movement for mutant kind’ whatever that movement is,” Sean explained.

“Is that why Charles only goes after the younger ones?” Janos asked.

Hank burst out laughing. “You make it sound like he’s chasing after them,” he said, “Charles just wants to make sure they grow up safe, and knowing they’re not freaks.”

“Is that how you grew up?” Janos asked.

“I grew up fast,” Hank said, “and I hid my entire life. Alex couldn't control his ability and was punished for it. Erik didn't know there were others until three years ago, as an adult! The stories are all different, but the result is always the same. No matter what Charles and Erik disagreed on, they both agreed to one thing: it’s better to be unstable allies than constant enemies.”

“When bad goes to worse,” Janos said, “we can rely on one another.”

“Exactly,” Sean said, “you’ve already done it for me, and I'm sure any one of us would do the same for you guys.”

Just then Alex and Darwin approached, dripping water over everything. Darwin sat across from Sean, while Alex sat next to him, pressing himself to Sean’s now-dry skin. Sean shivered and pulled away. “You ass,” he said, making a face.

Alex laughed and ducked Sean’s swipe. While Alex took a sandwich from the pile and Darwin showed them his webbed fingers, Sean momentarily forgot about the past. This was what mattered, right here.

***

“You sure about this?” Darwin asked, looking down the satellite dish, “I mean, I could probably survive this, but your frail bones might not make it.”

Sean smirked at him. “I was worried too, the first time.”

“And what happened?”

“I fell on my face,” Sean said, smiling wider.

“Comforting,” Darwin replied, raising an eyebrow.

“It happened a few times actually,” Sean continued, “but I have it down now.”

“I am filled with confidence,” Darwin said, “but if you die, Alex will be my witness.”

Alex grin at him, crossed his arms and leaned on the handrail. “He can do it, I’ve seen it myself.”

“Alright then,” Darwin said, “good luck.”

“I don't need luck,” Sean said, “I’ve got skill.” He waggled his eyebrows at Darwin, beamed at Alex and then dived off the edge.

He felt the metal whiz past him, the wind rushing against his face. It felt like his heart had stopped. He let the cold air fill his lungs and he let out a scream, spreading his arms to let the wings catch the sound waves, and instead of down he was now going up.

Once he was high enough he dove again. There was no better feeling than this; he forgot about everything, like he was leaving all his worries behind him, outracing them.

He did one more dive and circled his way back. The landing was unsteady, but at least he wasn't crash landing anymore.

Darwin was on him the moment he touched down. “That was amazing!” he exclaimed, “I can’t believe you just did that!”

Sean grinned back at him, trying to get his legs to take their combined weight. “Hank is working on a strapping system so I can take someone with me.”

“That’s so awesome!” Darwin said, “Holy shit, you need to tell me everything.”

“It’s like coming alive,” Sean started.

“Oh here we go,” Alex said, rolling his eyes, “like leaving all your worries behind.”

Sean grinned. “You’re so going to be my first passenger, so you can see what it’s like.”

“I’ve been up there with you already, I know what it’s like,” he replied, crossing his arms.

“Crashing is not the same,” Sean said, “it’ll be different.”

Darwin burst out laughing. “It’ll be magical,” he said, throwing an arm around Sean.

“You, my friend,” Sean said, “just got yourself a number one spot on Air Cassidy.”

“Thanks, but no thanks,” Darwin said, still smiling, “I’ve already died once, I don’t want to try it again for a few more years yet.”

***

“The mimic is back,” Charles said, “and he’s close.”

“If we’re going to make a move, this is our chance,” Erik said.

“We’re going to send you out in the same teams as last time,” Charles said, “but Banshee and Riptide are going to stay out of the way this time.”

Sean was about to protest when Charles held up a hand. “It’s not that we don’t have faith in you, it's just that he will recognise you, and we don’t know if he retains your abilities once he loses contact with you.”

“What do you mean stay out of the way?” Janos asked, looking from Charles to Erik.

“It means sitting this one out,” Erik said.

“That’s not fair!” Sean burst out.

“It’s safer this way,” Charles said.

“We don’t need a repeat of last time,” Erik said.

“And Hank hasn’t cleared you for missions again,” Charles said.

Sean wanted to keep arguing but Charles held his hand up again and Alex’s fingers were gripping his arm. He turned to see a resigned Janos and a surprised Azazel looking at him. He frowned, crossed his arms and backed off.

He knew he was acting like a petulant child, and that Charles really did only have their best interests at heart, but what happened last time was not his fault.

After he had seen Alex off he lingered at the entrance hall for a while before drifting to the TV room. It might be a while before they got back and he couldn’t wait for them all night. He found Charles sitting there, a blanket across his lap and a book in hand, while the TV ran on in the background, the sound low.

“I’m sorry I yelled like that, professor,” he said.

“That’s quite alright, Sean,” Charles said, “I understand the frustration.”

“Oh, god, I’m sorry, I didn't-” Sean started, wanting to hit himself in the face.

“I know,” Charles said, smiling, “it’s alright, calm down, have a seat.”

Sean edged towards the couches and sat down in the armchair. He tried to focus on the TV for a little while but found he couldn't sit still.

“How do you do it?” he finally said, “how do you not worry every time we go out?”

“On the contrary,” Charles said, “I worry about you constantly, even when you’re still here.”

“So what do you do?” he asked.

“I pretend I am calm, and eventually I start to believe it myself.”

“That’s not very helpful,” Sean said, raising an eyebrow and Charles laughed.

“Well maybe a warm glass of milk then.”

Sean sighed. “That means I have to go all the way to the kitchen.”

Now it was Charles’ turn to raise his eyebrow at Sean.

“Okay, okay,” Sean said, “milk, good idea!”

“And some tea for me if it’s not too much trouble,” Charles said to Sean’s retreating back, and Sean could hear the smugness in his voice.

Truthfully, Sean didn't mind. Making tea was relaxing. He worked off the nervous energy while he was waiting for the water to boil and the milk to heat, then while the tea was steeping he dug out the honey from the pantry and drizzled some into the warm milk.

He added some cold milk and a teaspoon of sugar to the tea, then placed both cups on a tray before making his way back.

He put the tray down and then placed the tea on the side table next to Charles. He took his cup of milk and wrapped both hands around the warm glass.

“I saw you have become friends with Janos,” Charles said, casually.

“Yeah, he saved my life,” Sean said, “and we talked some.”

Charles nodded. “That’s good, that’s really great.”

“Why do you ask?”

“He came in a couple of nights ago and asked for a teaching position,” Charles said, “he said you referred him.”

“Oh man, he came to see you? That’s awesome!” he said, then hesitated, “Isn’t it? Was I not supposed to? I just thought since Erik and Angel were teaching, and since we’re still missing a few topics from what I remember-”

“It’s alright Sean,” Charles said smiling, “you did nothing wrong, in fact I was surprised he came in.”

“You’re surprised he listened to me?” Sean said, with a quirk in his lip to show he was joking.

“Not at all,” Charles said, “you have a gift, and I think you’ll make a great headmaster one day .”

“What? Why do you say that? Is something wrong? Are you-are you dying?”

“No, nothing of the sort,” Charles said, sipping at his tea, “it’s just one of the many things I constantly worry about.” He paused, put his fingers to his temple and his eyes glazed over. “They’re back,” he said.

With surprising deftness he shifted himself to the wheelchair and they both left to see them.

When Charles approached the crowd parted to reveal a young boy who was seemed to be in his early teens, about twelve or thirteen years old. “You must be Kevin,” Charles said, “my name is Charles,” he held out a hand, “it’s nice to meet you, welcome to the school.”

The boy slowly reached out and shook Charles’ hand.

***

Sean was having a late supper when Janos joined him.

“You are having cereal at night?” Janos asked, “But it is a breakfast food.”

Sean shrugged. “I get hungry too soon if I have it for breakfast, but this is perfect.”

Janos watched him for a few more moments before taking out a dish and pouring himself a bowlful of cereal as well.

“The prof said you approached him about a teaching position,” Sean said.

“Yes, I think it would be good.”

“Yeah,” Sean said, “what are you doing to teach?”

“I am not sure yet, but I think I would like to start a school soccer team.”

Sean grinned. “That’s awesome. Get the kids out, make some use of all of that land.”

Janos was about to reply when he stopped and looked at something behind Sean. Sean turned around to see the new kid standing there.

“Hey!” Sean said, smiling, “Kevin right? Did you wanna join us for some breakfast food?”

He shook his head but sat down with them anyway.

“Can’t sleep?” Sean asked.

The boy was shaking his head, looking a little troubled. Sean wanted to ask if something was wrong, but he didn't want to scare Kevin off.

“I was the same,” Sean said, “new house, new people.”

“Yes,” Janos agreed, “I had trouble too, but you get used to it, once you realise you are safe here.”

“I’m sorry I hurt you when we first met,” Kevin blurted out.

Sean waved it off. “That’s alright, you were scared, trying to protect yourself.”

Kevin nodded. “Are you all like me?”

“Not like you exactly,” Sean said, “we all have our own abilities. Mutations the professor calls them.”

Janos held out a hand and let a small tornado hover over his palm. Kevin held his hand out and the storm moved to hover over his palm instead. He closed his hand around it and it disappeared.

“And you can scream really loud,” he said to Sean.

“Yeah, but let’s not try it in here, I’ll get in trouble if I break any more things.”

The boy laughed but agreed.

“I’ll show you tomorrow when you get the tour,” Sean said.

Kevin yawned. “I think I’m going to try sleeping again.”

“Alright, we’ll see you tomorrow,” Sean said.

“Good night,” Janos said.

When he was gone, Sean turned back to Janos. “Nice kid,” he said, “I hope he settles in well.”

Janos smiled at him. “With you to help him, I’m sure he will do just fine.”

 

The end


End file.
